Don Shanahan
The elements of the classic “film noir” genre have found success and inspired other movies for almost a century. Cracking with style, crime, and tension, they are the epitome of the expression “They don’t make them like they used to.” Here in September, fans of noir movies have an oasis arriving nearby with the Music Box Theatre’s annual Noir City: Chicago program.
Noir City: Chicago 2025 darkens the screens of the historic Music Box Theatre in the Lakeview neighborhood from September 5th to 11th. This annual event is presented by the Film Noir Foundation and features 18 movies this year. Each screening is presented by Eddie Muller, the founder of the Film Noir Foundation and on-screen host of the “Noir Alley” programming on the Turner Classic Movies cable channel, and co-hosted by author Alan K. Rode, the writer of Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film.
For passes, tickets, information, and the full schedule, please click here. The festival prices are set at $12.50 for individuals screenings. Music Box members get in for $10.
The Noir City: Chicago 2025 slate is giving a spotlight to female legacies. So often cast as the prerequisite “femme fatale” roles, women made noir films tick and sizzle as much as the square-jawed and broad-shouldered men. Jane Greer, Audrey Totter, Evelyn Keyes, Coleen Gray, and Ann Savage are the core ensemble of women featured in this year’s program. Below is a summary of the Noir City: Chicago 2025 schedule and line-up, many of which are playing in their original film formats with prints provided by the restoration efforts of the Film Noir Foundation and the Library of Congress.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5
The Grifters (1990)
The Killing (1956)
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6
Detour (1945)
Gun Crazy (1950)
Out of the Past (1947)
The Hot Spot (1990)
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
My True Story (1951)
Tension (1949)
The Woman in the Window (1944)
The Prowler (1951)
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
Dead Reckoning (1947)
The Reckless Moment (1949)
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
Phantom Lady (1944)
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10
Cry, Danger (1951)
Alias Nick Beal (1949)
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11
Scarlett Street (1945)
Murder, My Sweet (1944)
About the Music Box Theatre
Operating since 1929, the Music Box Theatre has been the premier venue in Chicago for independent and foreign films for more than four decades, playing host to over 200,000 patrons annually. It currently has the largest theater space operated full time in the city. The Music Box Theatre is independently owned and operated by the Southport Music Box Corporation. SMBC, through its Music Box Films division, also distributes foreign and independent films in the theatrical, DVD, and television markets throughout the United States.
Regular events produced, presented, and hosted at Music Box Theatre include the 70mm Film Festival; Music Box Christmas Sing-a-long and Double Feature, the annual 24-hour horror-movie marathon Music Box of Horrors; and Noir City: Chicago, co-presented by the Film Noir Foundation.
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